Naval Ordnance Test Station Inyokern, Randsburg Wash Facility Target Test Towers, Tower Road, China Lake, Kern County, CA

Significance: The Randsburg Wash Target Test Towers (Buildings 70021 and 70022) are significant for their role in the naval testing of proximity or variable time (VT) fuzes, a vital element of the Navy's weapons program. The towers played a key role in the Cold War proximity fuze test program at the Randsburg Wash facility, a program that eventually led to the Navy adapting the use of these fuzes to guided missiles. The towers are important on a national level during the period of significance between 1952 and 1960; the years in which the most important achievements in the Navy's developments of the properties and attributes of proximity fuzes. The towers are also significant for their unique engineering achievement, as 360 foot-tall, pyramidal wood towers.

Survey number: HAER CA-353

Building/structure dates: 1951 Initial Construction

towers testing cold war china lake acres ordnance test inyokern naval ordnance test station inyokern randsburg wash target randsburg wash facility target test towers tower road china china lake kern county california historic american engineering record photo ultra high resolution high resolution vermont navy us navy china lake test range library of congress

1969 - 1980

Library of Congress

http://www.loc.gov/

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